Race-track starting gate



June 16, 1925. r154.2767

R. R. HASSETTl RACE TRACK STARTING GATE F'irled Marchk .27, 1924 I5Sheets-Sheet 1 June 16,1925 1542,76? n R. R. HASSETT y 'RACE TlmoxsTARifING GATEy n y y y Filed March, 27, 1924 n 3 sneetsfsheei 2 L fmefaJune 16, 1925. 1,542,767 R. HASSETT RACE TRACK STARTING GATE Filed March27, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 lift.

Patented June 16, 1925. l

nmHA/Rnn; HassnTT., or LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY.

nnen-Tanon STARTING GATE.

Application ined Marchv 217, 1924. serial No. 702,388.

To all whom z'tmay/ concern:VV

15e it known that I, Kleinman R. Hnssri'rr,

a citizen of the United States residingJV at;

Lexington, in the Lcounty of Fayette `and tate of Kentucky, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Race- Track Starting`Grates; and I do hereby declare the `following to be a full, clear,andy exact description .of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to .which it appertains to make and use the same. j,

The starting ofhorsesin a; race is usually effected by means of alinewhich' extends across the4 track and is disposed about-breasthigh,thereby requiring some considerable The present invention provides forlocating Athe 'starting `line about on a level with the headsof theyhorses so that thelift may be quickly effected toadmit of a qui-ckgetaway. t

, A further purpose of the invention is the provision of a startinglinel which may be rea'dilyadjusted fromone point to another Y asrequired, thesameV being mountedkupon a portable raine'which isadaptedjto be self-propelled. W

Other obfeclts and advantages will be apparent and suggest themselves asthe nature of the invention is understood. ly f f While thedrawingsillustrate anembodiment of the invention it is to be understoodthat in adapting the same to meet different Y conditions andrequirements, various changes in the form, proportion and minor detailskof construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit ofthe invention. Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthe application:

Figure 1 is a front view of a race track starting gate embodying theinvention,

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof, Figure 3 is aside view ofthedevice, i Figure e is a sectional view on thev line 4-4 of Figure 1,looking in the direction of the arrows,

Figure 5 is anenlarged sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 1, thedotted lines showing the starting line elevated,

Figure 6 is a front View of the parts shown in Figure 5, l

kFig'gure 7 is av detail perspective view of one of the hangers for thestarting line, and Figure 8 is a detail perspectiveview of one of thebrackets to which the hanger is pivoted.

to in the following description and designated in the several views oi'thefdrawings by like reference characters. f

1 Thenumeral 10 designates the fence usu ally providedat the startingpost and in track 11 is located at one side of the race course, with thefence 10`disposed between said course and the track 11. A truck l2 ismounted upon the track 11 and is adapted to be propelled bymeans of amotor 13 mountedthereon. Vertical posts ltV and 15 are mounted kuponopposite end portions of the truck 12 and are connected at their upperends by longitudinal rails 16. A short upright 17 is disposed somedistance from the post 14 so as to overhangothe race course and isconnected to the post 14 by means of a rail 1S anda bar 19, the rail 18terminating at the upright 17 whereas the bar 19 continues pasttheuprightr 17 and extends enti-rely across the racetrack, the free endbeing provided with a' wheel 20 `which is mounted upon a railv21constituting a track at the opposite side of the krace course andsupported by means of posts 22. rBraces 23 connecty the upright 17 withthe post 15. The bar 19 is stout and supportsthestarting line 24which-is connected thereto so as to swing upwardly to clear ther-acersat the start, as indicated most clearly by the dotted lines in Figure 5.y

The support for the starting line 24 coinprisesa header 25 and aplurality of hangers 26 attached to the headery 25 and provided withlaterally disposed lugs 27 which are pivoted to brackets 28 attached tothe bar 19. Each of the hangers 25 is provided at its upper end with ahead 29. Each of the brackets 28 has a `pair of laterally disposed lugs30 between whichl the lug 27 of a hanger is pivoted and the lower endot' the bracket is formed with a slot 31 to rese brackets 29 to onpngtesides of the bar le. (latches 34 are pivoted `to the strip 32 and theirlower ends are adapted to engage kthe header 25 of the starting linesupporting frame to hold the latter in operative position. A connection35 is pivoted to the upper ends oit the catches 34 and is providlll) edat one end with a handle 36 which provides convenient means foroperating the series of catches.

In practice, the device is arranged so that the bar 19 extends acrossthe race track and at a height to clear the horses and their' mounts.The device is adjustable by reason of the truck l2 and the wheel 20 andtrack 21. When the starting line 24 is lowered, it occupies a positionabout in line with the heads of the horses and as a result the liftingdistance is relatively small. The supporting frame for the starting lineis counterweighted so that when free fror any restraining influence, itassumes the position substantially as indicated by the dotted lines inFigure 5, thereby elevating the starting line so as to clear the track.starting line supporting frame is held in vertical position by means ofthe catches 34. and since the latter are connected by the member 35 itis readily understood that all the catches are operated simultaneously,thereby permitting the starting line to move uniformly throughout itslength.

What is claimed is:

l. Means for starting a race the same omrising` a truck a frame'bracingl mounted o 3 ai thereon and having a portion overhanging therace track, a bar carried by the frame and extending completely acrossthe race K track, a starting line supporting frame pivoted to the saidbar and counterweighted to automatically swing clear of the track, andcatch means mounted upon the said bar and normally holding the framecarrying the starting line in operative position.

2. In means for starting a race, a bar disposed across the race track,brackets at- The tached to said bar, hangers pivoted to the brackets, aheader connecting the hangers, a starting line attached to said hangers,and catch means mounted upon the bar and nor,- mally holding thestarting line in operative position.

3. In means for starting a race, a bar disposed across the rack track,brackets attached to the bar and having `their lower ends slotted,hangers pivoted to the brackets and adapted to engage the lower slottedends thereof, a member connecting the hangers, and catch means carriedby the said bar and normally holding the hangers with the starting linein operative position.

4l. Starting means for a race, the same comprising a truck, posts atopposite ends of the truck, rails connecting the posts, an uprightdisposed to overhang the race track, a rail and a bar connecting theuprightwith one of the before mentioned posts, the rail terminating atthe upright whereas the bar extends to project across the race track,braces between the said upright and the other post mounted upon thetruck, brackets attached to the bar, hangers pivoted to the brackets, aheader connecting the hangers, a starting line attached to the lowerends of the hangers, catches pivoted to the bar and normally engagingthe said header to hold the starting line in operative position, andmeans connecting the catches to effect simultaneous movement thereof.

In testimony whereof I afix my signature in presence of a witness.

RICHARD R. HASSETT.

Witness:

BENNETT S. JONES.

